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Doing business with the poor

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Carulla Foundations promotes early childhood education in Colombia through initiative AeioTu

Carulla Foundation was founded by José Carulla Soler, then owner of the Carulla chain of department stores, in 1962. For 47 years the foundation provided scholarships to thousands of low-income employees of the company.

Poultry innovation platform (entrepreneurship)

RIU Tanzania is building up a programme of poultry-related activities in partnership with a range of private sector organisations. The programme is seeking to develop agri-business entrepreneurship capacity through poultry farming for sustainable income generation and enterprise development in the...

The "Cocoa Plan" between Nestlé and cocoa farmers

Nestlé is guided by the principle of creating shared value for shareholders and society in a manner that is integrally linked to its core business strategies and operations. It is called "Creating Shared Value (CSV)"; value created for shareholders, employees, farmers, consumers and the communities...

Kit Kat gives cocoa farmers in Côte d’Ivoire a break

The Fairtrade Foundation hailed Nestlé's 2009 announcement that Kit Kat is going Fairtrade as a breakthrough for cocoa farmers in Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), as well as for Kit Kat lovers in the UK and Ireland.

SELCO makes solar-lighting accessible to poor families in India

SELCO India is a Bangalore‐based social enterprise that makes solar lighting technology accessible to economically impoverished people in India.

Private sector involvement makes aid more effective

A recent article on the Guardian UK's "Poverty Matter's Blog" written by Peter Davis, a research fellow in the ODI's private sector and markets programme, highlights the importance of private sector involvement on aid effectiveness.

Partnership between UNDP and World LP Gas Association provides clean energy to rural areas of Morocco

In many developing countries, including Morocco, there is still a high dependence on traditional biomass fuel in rural areas, which has many negative consequences, such as deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, health issues and gender inequality. Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) represents a safe and...

Uganda: Kampala to get Sh480 Million to Ensure Success of a Sanitation Project

The Ministry of Water and Environment and the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), have launched a public-private initiative to improve access to sanitation for the urban poor in Kampala. The project will be implemented in partnership with Crestanks and Poly Fibre, private companies that produce and...

Enda inter-arabe: micro-credit in Tunisia

Enda inter-arabe is an international NGO operating in Tunisia. A member of ENDA Third-World based in Senegal, the organisation has been providing microcredit in Tunisia for 15 years.

The Asian Development Bank and Non-Governmental Organizations: Working Together

The Microcredit Project in Indonesia, established by the Asian Development Bank and approved in 1994, focuses on microenterprise support, recognizing the potential of microenterprises to create jobs at low capital input costs and raise the income levels of the poor.

Smart Communications: Low-cost Money Transfers for Overseas Filipino Workers

A leading wireless telephone services provider in the Philippines, Smart Communications, Inc. recognized that at least 8 million Filipinos work and live abroad—about a quarter of the domestic labour force. In 2005, Filipino workers overseas sent $10.7 billion in remittances, with at least as much...

Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan - Creating Value for All: Community-Based Tourism

Tourism is a rapidly growing industry throughout the world. It can contribute to poverty alleviation through creating new jobs and providing entrepreneurial opportunities for people from a variety of backgrounds, skills and experiences. Community-based tourism - a type of tourism that is owned and...

Sabritas incorporates small farmers into sunflower supply chain

Incorporation of small, low-income producers into the supply chains of larger companies in rural Mexico is increasingly becoming a powerful way to break the cycle of poverty.

Women artisans given business opportunities in Rwanda

Indego Africa is an NGO and a fair-trade online retailer. The organisation partners with small Rwandan "cooperatives", women artisan owned and operated producers of traditional baskets, bags, and other local products, and connects them to the growing global market for African inspired handicrafts,...

Cafédirect: A Fairtrade Pioneer

Cafédirect is one of Fairtrade’s longest standing partners and licensees. Founded in 1989 in response to the collapse of international coffee prices, cafédirect even preceded the FAIRTRADE Mark in the UK, which was introduced three years later.

A Little World: Facilitating Safe and Efficient M-Banking in Rural India

A Little World (ALW)is an Indian company facilitating safe and efficient mobile-banking in rural India by offering a secure, low‐cost technology driven delivery platform for financial services through special mobile phones.

SEKEM: A Holistic Egyptian Initiative

After living in Austria for 21 years, Ibrahim Abouleish returned home to Egypt to do something about the difficulties he observed during visits. In 1977, he founded the Sekem initiative to promote social and environmental development through economic and cultural activities.

Chilean bank pursues business opportunities in the low-income microenterprise market

Where others see obstacles, Chile’s Banco de Crédito e Inversiones (BCI) sees opportunities.

Construmex: Facilitating Remote Housing Investments for US-based Mexican Migrants

Construmex, an initiative of Mexican construction and building giant CEMEX, was launched after the company’s success with Patrimonio Hoy, a socially minded business initiative targeted at low-income consumers. Since its inception in 2001, Construmex has helped more than 14,000 Mexican migrants in...

Rajawali’s Express Taxi: Working with Taxi Drivers as Business Partners in Indonesia

The 1997 Asian financial crisis created a job vacuum in Indonesia, with companies forced to lay off 1.4 million workers. A decade later, unemployment rates continue to rise and poverty defines the context for Indonesia’s economy, social relations and security. Express Taxi, a subsidiary of the...